Sunday, October 2, 2016

OCEAN ISLE PART 3: MEALS AND AFTERNOONS

Here we go, part 3! This post is dedicated to the people we were on this getaway with.

We were all, wait is this going to work??!? As in, are we all actually going to be able to make time to do this? And live together in a house for four days? And cook all our meals? With 9 adults and 9 kids?

Well, we did it. With great success.

These things helped: 1) We got together before the trip to plan out all of the meals, who would be responsible for buying, and then also preparing and making the food. During this meeting, we also discussed our expectations for this trip to make sure we were on the same page, and also discussed things that we wanted to get out of this trip. We agreed that we were excited to hang out together but also agreed that alone time was also totally fine when needed. 2) All the parents implement either a nap time or a quiet time in the afternoons, and we made sure that this was part of the schedule each day. In the morning, we had breakfast together and then afterwards we spent the morning at the beach. After lunch, the little kids and babies went down for a nap, and the big kids went into a designated room for quiet time, where they could play with toys quietly while listening to an audiobook. They all did really well with us for about two hours each afternoon sometimes longer, which allowed the adults some adult time either together or individually. The later part of the afternoon was spent out on the sound, either gazing, walking, or kayaking. Then cocktails, dinner, and then some sort of quick group family song or worship time before we put the kids to sleep. And then more adult hang outs in the evenings. Usually with more cocktails.

All of it felt surreal even while we were there. "Dreamy!" we kept saying to each other. It meant we appreciated all the moments and each other. These people sharpen me, love me, and love my kids. I needed this.

I'd been dying to catch up on your blog and especially find out more details about this friendscation. It is amazing that you did this with young kids; I love it. I am inspired and want to do this. How else did you figure out logistics; how many rooms did you have, etc.?